Belgium, More Antwerp and final post from Belgium

In the days when I wasn’t getting a train to somewhere else I did more exploring in Antwerp and although two of the museums I really wanted to visit – the main art museum and the Fashion museum – were closed for renovations, I did manage to visit some other smaller places.

This is Rubenshuis – the actual home that the painter Rubens (who is the local great painter) lived. The house is also partly under renovation but a lot has been done and it is a lovely place slap bang in the Centre of the city.

Exterior and gardens of Rubenshuis

Ruben’s bed and his art and collections at Rubenshuis

More beautiful things in Rubenshuis – unlike most artists he made a lot of money while still alive

The area I was staying at for most of the time I was in Antwerp is called Het Eilandje and is where the old port used to be. One Sunday I downloaded a street art walking app and wandered around the docks and port – they have done an excellent job of restoring the area including building parks and a spectacular Port building.

MAS museum, cranes, marina and street art in Het Eilandje

More street art and one of the sluice gates

Antwerp port building (old and modern combined) , the new part and street art around every corner

Back to the old I visited some more churches on my last day in Antwerp. Firstly St Paul’s Church – which like many houses works of Rubens but for me it was especially cool because it’s garden has hundreds of stone carvings depicting the last days of Christ – it is all a bit spooky.

The exterior of St Paul’s church and the stone sculptures

The interior of St Paul’s Church plus a surprising simple modern sculpture of Mary and Jesus in front of all that gothic splendor! I like it.

Woodwork and stonework in St Paul’s church

Then to another house of the former mayor from the 16th century – the Rockoxhuis. He was a very wealthy mayor who made his money in brewing and also he liked his beautiful paintings and furniture too. He was also generous to the poor and bequeathed his house to the state after he died.

Interior courtyard and some of the art inside the Rockoxhuis

And final stop at St Jacob’s Church which is where Rubens is buried and where restoration is also happening and they are finding some fabulous murals as they are cleaning the walls – only visible on film at this stage but more to be displayed to the public in future.

Ruben’s tomb plus items from the Treasury of St Jacob’s church

For my last couple of days here I moved into a very funky hotel in the Centre of town – the DeWitte Lelie – my bedroom is the one with the Mohammed Ali screen prints in it.

Farewell to Belgium (and Rotterdam) – very much enjoyed staying in a place that is not overrun with tourists and that has a cool vibe to it.

Belgium – Antwerp

While I have been bouncing around Belgium I have also been exploring my base town of Antwerp. I am renting an apartment in the area that was formerly where all the docks were. It is now full of apartments in converted warehouses – and is similar to the meatpacking district as it was 20 years ago – so not yet overrun or in any way touristy – yet. It is also close to the red light district which I stumbled into on my first day – all wares are in the windows (rather than the street) – lots of make-up; not much clothing – no photos allowed but I smiled and waved at a few of them and they waved back – it is all very jolly and not at all seedy – this was at 4pm though:). The police station is right in the middle of the two streets where most of these ladies are to be seen and it is considered the safest place in Antwerp!

Converted warehouse buildings – my apartment is somewhere down there!

The are is being regenerated and it also houses two of the cities museums – so nice easy walk for me. The first is MAS (Museum Aan de Stroom) which means Museum on the river apparently. This is a very interesting building in its own right and has a broad range of art – mostly temporary exhibits but also some permanent.

MAS in Antwerp

The section below was about festivals and celebrations – the camera is actually a designed coffin – there is a company in the Caribbean who make these in any shape or design – whatever was of interest to the deceased. The giant dolls are used in annual parades in Belgium and the wedding sofa is for a Moroccan bride – definitely eclectic.

Camera Coffin, giant dolls and bridal sofa

At the top are the giant dance machines – used in Belgium through to the early 60s – they played music and had lights and other effects. They were beautifully detailed but eventually DJs took over:(. Strange porcelain figures plus a sailing couple sculpture make for a fun visit.

More art in MAS

Then at the very top of the building I came across and excellent collection of pre Colombian art. A very rich lady (Dora Jannssen) collected these pieces over the years based on aesthetics ie. what she liked and then became fascinated by the culture and its art. They were subsequently gifted to the state. It is considered on of the best collections of its kind and I really liked the pieces from an artistic perspective – would have been great to have an expert to explain all the cultural links bearing in mind this era was about 700-900 years BC. Very cool

Jannssen pre Colombian art exhibits

Jannssen pre Colombian art exhibits

Jannssen pre Colombian art exhibits

And now for a view of the city buildings. A lot is under construction and renovation at the moment but I’ve focussed on the buildings that are scaffolding free whenever I can.

Grote Markt

Antwerp likes its sculptures – they are everywhere

As a regular day tripper I have spend a lot of time at the station which is very grand and very big. The zoo is right next door which is why the Ferris wheel has a few gorillas on it!

Antwerp Station and the Ferris wheel with gorillas!

The evening light shows off the sandstone of the buildings on a warm summer’s evening

Antwerp as the sun is going down

And of course there is some street art plus I was impressed with the imaginative and colourful hoarding for new town hall building.

Street Art in Antwerp

On Sunday it was the day of Kultur Markt in Antwerp. Every last Sunday of the summer months all forms of theatre, music and drama is taking place all over the downtown area. I even got a burst of Mamma Mia. This is all to encourage the locals sign up for various arts groups and it is very popular. They also drop all museum charges on this day so I had to make sure I took advantage of that!

First stop was the nearby Red Star Line museum. The Red Star Line (which included the Titanic) had about 15 ships at its peak and while it acted as a pleasure cruiser this museum is all about what it was like to emigrate from all over Europe to the US or Canada. It is full of great interviews and stories about families from Russia, the Ukraine, Germany etc who all found their way to Antwerp so they could get a ticket on the red star line and this museum is on the site where all the admin was done and where people checked onto the ship. Some of the migration experiences were more successful than others and some even came back as they missed home so much. I lost two hours in here.

Some old posters from the Red Star Line

The Vlees Huis below is typical of what are known as “speck” buildings in this part of the world. Speck means fat and they are so called because the colouring looks like butcher’s meat with alternating meat and fat streaks.

Speck design

After a burst of listening to ABBA songs I dived into another free entry museum – the Plantin-Moretus (such catchy names they have here!). This is the house where the printer Christophe Plantin spent his life – with his family, books, paintings and printing equipment.

The famous Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens left a lot of impressive art in this house – which shows how wealthy Mr Plantin was,

Four portraits by Peter Paul Rubens

The print shop and library in the Plantin-Moretus House

Cosimo de Medici by Rubens

And the best one of all – in my opinion – this Rubens portrait of Seneca.

That’s it for Antwerp for the time being.